The Pogues star Shane MacGowan, best known for Christmas hit Fairytale Of New York, dies at 65
Musician and singer Shane MacGowan, best known as the frontman of The Pogues, has died at the age of 65.
His wife Victoria Mary Clarke said in a post on Instagram: “Shane will always be the light that I hold before me and the measure of my dreams and the love of my life.”
The Irish star had suffered from several health issues in recent years.
Born in Kent on Christmas Day in 1957, MacGowan will forever be associated with the festive period thanks to The Pogues’ 1987 hit, Fairytale Of New York, featuring the late Kirsty MacColl.
Throughout the 1980s and early ’90s, the band also had hits including Dirty Old Town, The Irish Rover, A Pair Of Brown Eyes and A Rainy Night In Soho.
MacGowan was a punk rebel, almost as famous for his drinking and drug taking – and for the toll it took on his teeth – as he was for his music. But he was a gifted storyteller from a young age, winning a Daily Mirror literary prize when he was 13, and a scholarship to Westminster School for his essays.
“I didn’t last there very long,” he told the Guardian in a 2013 interview. “I got nicked for smoking a joint and was kicked out.”
The Pogues in 1985: Shane MacGowan, Andrew Ranken, Jem Finer, Terry Woods, James Fearley, Philip Chevron, Spider Stacy and Cait O’Riordan. Pic: Everett/Shutterstock
He had been unwell in recent years, receiving treatment in hospital for encephalitis in December 2022, and spending time in intensive care in the summer. He was back in hospital in November, with former bandmates Spider Stacy and Terry Woods among those who visisted him.
MacGowan had also used a wheelchair since 2015 following several falls, breaking his pelvis and then his right knee.
The singer married his long-term partner, journalist Victoria Mary Clarke, at a ceremony in Copenhagen in 2018, with his friend Johnny Depp playing guitar at their wedding.
MacGowan (right) and Johnny Depp pictured in 1994
Writing for the Irish Independent ahead of their nuptials, about the first time she met MacGowan at the age of 16, Clarke said she was “awe-struck”, before going on to detail a complicated relationship that “makes the Fairytale Of New York couple from Shane’s Christmas song seem tame and orderly”.
She said: “When you meet ‘The One’, you have a choice. You can dive in, marry them while you are infatuated with each other and hope for the best. Or you can wait until you are sure that the honeymoon phase has worn off and you are seeing each other in the light of having lived, no longer young, beautiful and indestructible.”
US rapper Eminem is to become a grandfather.
The 51-year-old revealed the news in a music video released on Thursday for his song Temporary, which is dedicated to his daughter Hailie Jade.
The video features a montage of clips of the pair during their lives – including a moment when she presents her father with a blue jumper with “Grampa 1” written on the back.
Jade then hands him what appears to be an ultrasound scan – which a visibly surprised Eminem then shows to the camera.
The 28-year-old also later confirmed her pregnancy in an Instagram post on Thursday.
The social media influencer uploaded photos of herself and husband Evan McClintock hugging and looking at the ultrasound image.
She wrote: “Mom & dad est. 2025”.
Temporary, which features singer Skylar Grey, is from the rapper’s latest album The Death Of Slim Shady (Coup De Grace), which was released earlier this summer.
Eminem, whose real name is Marshall Mathers, explains in the introduction to the emotional track that it is for his daughter to listen to “When I’m no longer here”.
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He adds: “I wrote you this song, To help you cope with life now that I’m gone… Sweetie, be strong, I know I was your rock, And I still am…
“You will get over me and move on, you can play me on repeat on a song. But don’t you dare shed a tear”.
In the chorus, Grey sings: “In time, I’ll be fine. The tears are temporary.”
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Jade, who married her husband in May, is the only biological daughter of Eminem with his ex-wife Kim Scott.
He also adopted two of Scott’s daughters from previous relationships.
The rapper, who shot to fame with his single My Name Is in 1999, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022.
Oasis have warned fans that thousands of fake tickets for their North America tour are being advertised before the official sale has begun.
A post on the Band’s official X account read: “Please be aware. Thousands of fake Oasis tickets have already been discovered on StubHub and Vivid Seats before the North America tour has even gone on sale!”
The post linked to a letter released by the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) on Wednesday – the day before pre-sale tickets went on sale – which said it found evidence of at least 9,000 fake tickets being listed for the highly anticipated US shows.
“Not only are these tickets fake, they are estimated to be exceedingly higher than the face value of real tickets,” the NIVA said.
The association claimed StubHub had 2,177 fake ticket listings across three of the shows and Vivid Seats listed approximately 3,450 fake tickets.
It said a “significant number” of listings on Vivid Seats had “no warning or messages that the tickets were not in the possession of the seller, including the most expensive tickets across all three nights”.
A shot of the Vivid Seats website selling tickets for over £8,000
It also provided screenshots of various tickets on both ticket resale websites, where some tickets were being advertised for over $11,000 (£8,300).
When accessed in the UK, Sky News found tickets for the same show in Pasadena, California, selling on Vivid Seats for £8,710 – although this was after some legitimate tickets were made available during the pre-sale ballot.
General sale tickets for the tour, which will go to cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago, Toronto and Mexico City, are not officially available to purchase until 4 October.
It comes after the band issued a similar warning in the UK, warning against people reselling tickets for their reunion tour dates at higher prices.
The NIVA called on the Senate Commerce Committee to hold a hearing into what it called “predatory ticket practices” including the sale of speculative tickets.
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It said: “We urge Congress to probe the ticket brokers and resale platforms empowering those brokers to sell fake tickets and use deceptive practices that victimise fans every day, including around the sale of Oasis tickets in the US.”
The band reiterated that Twickets US and Ticketmaster are the only places fans can buy resale tickets.
Sky News has contacted StubHub and Vivid Seats for comment.
Presenter Stephen Mulhern says he is “absolutely mortified” to learn that tenants in a bungalow he owns in Leicester have been living in damp and mouldy conditions.
The 47-year-old star owns a property firm called JFDI Productions, which rents out several houses and is worth over £4m according to company filings.
One of the tenants shared images of a bungalow he rents in Leicester, showing mould on walls and ceilings throughout the home, with the Big Issue.
Speaking to the street paper, the man, who wished to remain anonymous, said he felt “bitter and alienated” after living with damp and mould in the property for two years.
He said he and his flatmate began noticing a damp problem during an annual inspection with the management agent, Connells, a couple of years ago.
The pair – who were both key workers during COVID – said they pay £775 for the house per month.
Despite saying they complained to the management agency about the issue multiple times since then, they say no action has been taken, with the damp affecting rooms throughout the house.
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They said the agent had advised they “ventilate the properly and keep the house warm during the winter,” but the situation had continued to worsen.
“We remained patient, sending polite emails at first. In later conversations, my remarks became a bit sharper,” he said.
Although they said high humidity readings in the house had eventually persuaded the management agency to install “a positive input ventilation system”, they said that had only temporarily improved conditions.
The tenant described Mulhern as “a millionaire, profiting off our misery”.
Mulhern co-hosts Dancing On Ice with Holly Willoughby. Pic: Matt Frost/ITV/Shutterstock
‘Absolutely mortified’ about the ‘unacceptable’ situation
Responding to news of the state of the home, a representative for Mulhern told Sky News the presenter was “absolutely mortified to learn about this situation and the awful experience the tenant has faced which is clearly unacceptable”.
They said he had not been made aware of any of the issues and had relied entirely on the company that manage the property on his behalf.
They said he has now “personally requested for a team of damp specialists to visit the property to make sure that the problems with the ventilation and mould are resolved as a matter of urgency”.
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Additionally, they confirmed the tenant had been contacted “to express sincere apologies for the distress and frustration the management of this matter has caused”.
They said the situation “falls way below the standards Stephen expects and he is doing everything possible to remedy this ASAP, and this process is already under way”.
A representative for Connells told Sky News: “As agents we work on behalf of the landlord and we continue to work with the landlord’s representative to address the issues raised’.”
Mulhern, who was announced as co-presenter of Dancing On Ice last year replacing Philip Schofield, will front the new series of the show alongside Holly Willoughby when it kicks off in January.
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